Tropescilloscope: Character Development

A character changes over the course of a narrative. (read more at tvtropes.org)

More Tropes The Musical Heel–Face Turn Curb-Stomp Battle "Awesome McCool" Name Slasher Smile The Ditz The Stinger Dark Action Girl Accidental Murder Stalker with a Crush The Ace Smoking Is Cool Retcon Department of Redundancy Department One Steve Limit Early Installment Weirdness Narrator Retired Badass Brutal Honesty Taking the Bullet O.O.C. Is Serious Business Wrong Genre Savvy Aside Glance Sealed Evil in a Can Scare Chord Alpha Bitch Not Quite Dead Dark Is Not Evil Karmic Death Chase Scene He Knows Too Much No Antagonist Faux Affably Evil Dirty Old Man Ominous Latin Chanting Morality Pet Non-Indicative Name Thriller The Dragon Knight Templar Adaptational Badass Vampire Fiction Lighter and Softer Sequel Hook Light Is Not Good Last-Name Basis Scary Black Man Needs Wiki Magic Love Evil-Detecting Dog Dwindling Party Advertised Extra All Just a Dream Hollywood Law Fat Bastard Betty and Veronica Naked People Are Funny Berserk Button Fainting What the Hell, Hero? Fish out of Water Malevolent Masked Men Exact Words This Is Gonna Suck And the Adventure Continues As Long as It Sounds Foreign Early-Bird Cameo Fanservice Only in It for the Money Conspicuous CG Camera Abuse Mundane Made Awesome Card-Carrying Villain Black Dude Dies First "Well Done, Son!" Guy Hope Spot Dropped a Bridge on Him Groin Attack Henpecked Husband Throwing Your Sword Always Works Tempting Fate Get Out! Dirty Coward Film Noir Bond Villain Stupidity Eureka Moment Did Not Get the Girl Historical-Domain Character My Greatest Failure Take That! Chekhov's Skill Match Cut For the Evulz Stylistic Suck Well-Intentioned Extremist Gone Horribly Right Beta Couple Nice Job Fixing It, Villain! Defiant to the End Artistic License – Geography Paper-Thin Disguise Heroes Want Redheads Reckless Gun Usage Soundtrack Dissonance The Starscream Tagline Manic Pixie Dream Girl Hero of Another Story Shut Up, Hannibal! Mystery and Detective Films Death by Adaptation Affectionate Parody Evil Is Petty Bittersweet Ending Recap / RiffTrax aka: Riff Trax Movies All for Nothing Cool Old Guy Villain with Good Publicity Rich Bitch Setting Update The Sociopath Extremely Short Timespan The Lancer Big Damn Heroes Death by Sex Word of God Adaptation Distillation Product Placement Irony Fiery Redhead Scenery Porn Contrived Coincidence Screw the Money, I Have Rules! Music Stories Disproportionate Retribution Not So Above It All Lock and Load Montage Historical In-Joke Stealth Pun Took a Level in Badass Continuity Nod The Bad Guy Wins Happily Married Badass Boast Death of a Child Blood from the Mouth Horror Films Break the Haughty The '80s The Casanova You Killed My Father Heterosexual Life-Partners Superhero Sexy Discretion Shot Broken Pedestal No-Sell All Girls Want Bad Boys Title Drop No Name Given Names to Run Away from Really Fast Epic Fail Let's Get Dangerous! Fan Disservice Humans Are Bastards '80s Hair Bar Brawl Guile Hero Brother–Sister Incest Children Are Innocent British Films Adaptation Name Change Reality Is Unrealistic Sadistic Choice Award-Bait Song folderlabel Big Applesauce Chuck Cunningham Syndrome Darkest Hour Crapsack World Fantastic Racism May–December Romance Toplessness from the Back Funny Foreigner Famous Last Words Token Minority Cowboy Cop The Quiet One How We Got Here Hero Antagonist "The Reason You Suck" Speech Nice Guy Face–Heel Turn Car Fu Gratuitous English timeperiod Canon Foreigner The Hero The Brute Establishing Character Moment Manipulative Bastard Those Two Guys Dirty Cop Ax-Crazy Catapult Nightmare Implacable Man Never Trust a Trailer The Oner Insistent Terminology Gold Digger Arch-Enemy I'm a Humanitarian Motor Mouth Bloody Hilarious Japanese Films Love at First Sight Meet Cute Mooks Deal with the Devil Big Fancy House The Cameo Suspiciously Specific Denial Pretty in Mink Batman Gambit Hooker with a Heart of Gold Wham Shot Man on Fire Here We Go Again! I Just Shot Marvin in the Face Deliberately Monochrome Nice Job Breaking It, Hero! There Is No Kill Like Overkill Only Sane Man Shell-Shocked Veteran Neck Snap Credits Gag The Lost Lenore Freeze-Frame Bonus Index of Film Westerns The '90s Improbable Infant Survival aka: Infant Immortality Race Lift Cat Fight Pimped-Out Dress Smug Snake Camp Gay Darker and Edgier Australian Movies Pragmatic Adaptation Pun aka: Incredibly Lame Pun Guns Akimbo Hong Kong Films Punch-Clock Villain Drugs Are Bad The Load The Chick Unwitting Instigator of Doom Action Survivor Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping Obstructive Bureaucrat You Have Got to Be Kidding Me! Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil Woman Scorned Kick the Dog Not What It Looks Like Only One Name The Remake The Mafia I Want My Beloved to Be Happy Covers Always Lie Karma Houdini Stepford Smiler Call-Back Sacrificial Lion Adults Are Useless Parental Substitute Would Hurt a Child Auto Erotica No Celebrities Were Harmed Foreshadowing Hoist by His Own Petard Major Injury Underreaction Cool Car Shower Scene Have a Gay Old Time Eye Scream As You Know Comically Missing the Point Left the Background Music On Determinator Author Appeal Offscreen Moment of Awesome Killed Mid-Sentence Silent Movie Does This Remind You of Anything? The Place Decoy Protagonist A.I. Is a Crapshoot Television Movie Index The Power of Love Our Vampires Are Different Spell My Name with an "S" Nothing Is Scarier Made of Iron Not So Stoic Depraved Bisexual Annoying Younger Sibling Plot Hole The Bully Corrupt Corporate Executive Abhorrent Admirer Sequel Escalation The Mole From Nobody to Nightmare The Un-Reveal Sliding Scale of Idealism vs. Cynicism Black Best Friend Double-Meaning Title Same Language Dub The Film of the Book Horror Comedy Super Strength Missing Mom Vomit Discretion Shot Mind Screw Arranged Marriage The Alleged Car Improvised Weapon Costume Porn Butt-Monkey Action Genre Distracted by the Sexy Defrosting Ice Queen Beard of Evil Drives Like Crazy Off-into-the-Distance Ending Heel Realization Mexican Standoff Manly Tears Bullying a Dragon Green-Eyed Monster Anachronic Order Central Theme Film Series Adaptation Dye-Job Romantic False Lead Adapted Out B-Movie Canadian Movies Anguished Declaration of Love It's All About Me Shipper on Deck Red Eyes, Take Warning Jitter Cam Never Trust a Trailer aka: Trailers Always Lie Shirtless Scene Ghost Fiction What Happened to the Mouse? Ascended Extra Bloodless Carnage Storming the Castle Character Development Mad Scientist Large Ham Villain Ball Dutch Angle Dressing as the Enemy Break the Cutie Madness Mantra And Starring Refuge in Audacity Police Brutality Diabolus ex Machina Freudian Excuse The Smurfette Principle Half the Man He Used to Be Amoral Attorney Becoming the Mask Failed a Spot Check Babies Ever After Serious Business Based on a True Story Running Gag Deus ex Machina Does Not Like Shoes Call-Forward Alliterative Name Bury Your Gays Abusive Parents Affably Evil Historical Hero Upgrade Rousing Speech Bloodier and Gorier Bland-Name Product Artistic License – Military Only Known by Their Nickname The Reveal Drill Sergeant Nasty The Stoner The Big Guy Knife Nut Peek-a-Boo Corpse Leitmotif Crazy-Prepared A Father to His Men Totally Radical Serial Killer Aww, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other Cat Scare Psychological Thriller Christmas Movies Index Informed Ability The Alcoholic Exactly What It Says on the Tin Big-Bad Ensemble Imagine Spot Disney Villain Death Big Brother Instinct Be Careful What You Wish For The Ghost Villain Song The '70s The Un-Favourite aka: The Un Favorite You Have Failed Me Evil Cannot Comprehend Good Lampshade Hanging Badass Grandpa Adaptational Attractiveness Arc Words The Cavalry Public Domain Feature Films Sir Swears-a-Lot Psycho for Hire Animal Title Index Honor Before Reason Celebrity Paradox Book-Ends Kill It with Fire Badass Normal Redshirt Army No-Holds-Barred Beatdown Red Right Hand Star-Crossed Lovers Jerkass Has a Point Soft Glass Worthy Opponent Even Evil Has Standards Better to Die than Be Killed Corpsing Badass Longcoat Captain Obvious Aluminum Christmas Trees Sole Survivor Scenery Gorn Real Life Writes the Plot Oh, Crap! Slap-Slap-Kiss Protagonist Title I Have Your Wife Homage NO INDOOR VOICE Parental Neglect Broken Bird BFG La Résistance Mighty Whitey Dissonant Serenity Adaptation Expansion Trailers Always Spoil Black Comedy In Medias Res Villain Opening Scene Older Than They Look It Can Think Screw the Rules, I Have Money! Stealth Hi/Bye Shown Their Work Those Wacky Nazis Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold Too Dumb to Live Double Entendre Adorkable Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right! Badass in a Nice Suit Bunny-Ears Lawyer Cloudcuckoolander Anti-Hero Framing Device Took a Level in Jerkass Fate Worse than Death Creator Cameo Country Matters Off with His Head! Easily Forgiven Not So Different She Cleans Up Nicely Laser-Guided Karma Death by Irony Cassandra Truth My Beloved Smother Idiot Ball Adaptational Villainy As the Good Book Says... Demonic Possession Moment Killer Ragtag Bunch of Misfits Calling the Old Man Out Reality Ensues Made of Explodium Laughing Mad Video Credits Male Frontal Nudity Frame-Up Hell Is That Noise Unusually Uninteresting Sight Ms. Fanservice Agony of the Feet Hidden Depths Suspiciously Similar Substitute Empathic Environment Obfuscating Stupidity Closed Circle It Will Never Catch On Toilet Humour aka: Toilet Humor World of Ham Drowning My Sorrows Earn Your Happy Ending Recycled IN SPACE! Military and Warfare Films Eyepatch of Power Grievous Bottley Harm Overly Long Gag No Good Deed Goes Unpunished Up to Eleven Red Herring Foil Only a Flesh Wound Historical Villain Upgrade Show Within a Show Mugging the Monster Beauty Is Never Tarnished Fatal Family Photo Unreliable Narrator An Aesop Genre Shift Bald of Evil Author Avatar Chekhov's Gunman Genre Throwback Anti-Villain Spiritual Successor Chewing the Scenery Mythology Gag Loads and Loads of Characters The Dreaded Stock Footage Interrupted Suicide Final Girl Adult Fear More Dakka Retirony Would Hit a Girl Shout-Out Anachronism Stew Twist Ending Wretched Hive Chekhov's Gun Stuff Blowing Up Politically Incorrect Villain Attempted Rape Eiffel Tower Effect Deconstruction Horror Doesn't Settle for Simple Tuesday Skewed Priorities Naïve Newcomer Dramatic Gun Cock Riddle for the Ages Flipping the Bird Boom, Headshot! One-Word Title Logo Joke Make It Look Like an Accident Adaptational Heroism Hollywood Darkness Rape as Drama Ungrateful Bastard Death Glare Fake Shemp For Want of a Nail War Is Hell Creepy Child Bare Your Midriff Handicapped Badass Downer Ending Colour-Coded for Your Convenience aka: Color Coded For Your Convenience Undying Loyalty Foregone Conclusion Pretty Little Headshots Ass Shove Daylight Horror Reasonable Authority Figure Mistaken for Gay Back from the Dead Breaking the Fourth Wall Meaningful Background Event She's Got Legs The Chessmaster Disappeared Dad Dark Reprise Dying Moment of Awesome Noodle Incident Redemption Equals Death No Ending Obviously Evil Jerk Jock Heroic BSoD Hair-Trigger Temper Whole Plot Reference Romantic Comedy Epic Movie An Axe to Grind Unspoken Plan Guarantee Deadpan Snarker Kubrick Stare Composite Character Pre-Asskicking One-Liner It's Personal Dual Wielding Jump Scare Amusing Injuries Black Comedy Rape Visual Pun Captain Ersatz My God, What Have I Done? Crazy Jealous Guy Bitch in Sheep's Clothing Ship Tease Unresolved Sexual Tension Intergenerational Friendship Four-Temperament Ensemble Everyone Has Standards Italian Films Rewatch Bonus Red Oni, Blue Oni Ripped from the Headlines Evil Brit N-Word Privileges The Vamp Daddy's Girl Slashed Throat Properly Paranoid The Faceless Roaring Rampage of Revenge Evil Laugh French Films Black and Gray Morality Revenge Pay Evil unto Evil The Smart Guy Fire-Forged Friends MacGuffin Expy Demoted to Extra Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy Bilingual Bonus Take a Third Option Bring My Brown Pants Broken Aesop Bad Boss Police are Useless Your Cheating Heart Offscreen Teleportation Extreme Doormat Femme Fatale A Minor Kidroduction One-Man Army Bait-and-Switch Animated Credits Opening Bad "Bad Acting" Poor Communication Kills Ambiguous Ending Mercy Kill The Great Depression Eagleland Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass Instant Death Bullet Fanservice Extra Authority Equals Asskicking Sinister Minister Blood Knight Insult Backfire After the End Men Are the Expendable Gender The Atoner Papa Wolf Together in Death Destination Defenestration Silence Is Golden Face Death with Dignity Dull Surprise Cain and Abel Bound and Gagged Bi the Way Wicked Cultured Age Lift Intrepid Reporter Cold-Blooded Torture Enemy Mine Fantasy Films Vacation Films Important Haircut Hypocritical Humor Villainous Breakdown Artistic License – History Genre Savvy Why Did It Have to Be Snakes? Gender Flip Immune to Bullets Sir Not-Appearing-in-This-Trailer Meaningful Echo Actor Allusion Beware the Nice Ones Big Bad Action Girl Race Against the Clock No OSHA Compliance Re-Cut Small Name, Big Ego Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane Chiaroscuro Playing Gertrude Hate Sink Dumb Blonde Woman in White Punctuated! For! Emphasis! Artistic License – Physics Random Events Plot Every Car Is a Pinto In Name Only Alas, Poor Villain Damsel in Distress Due to the Dead Funny Background Event Big "NO!" Psychopathic Manchild Even Evil Has Loved Ones Self-Deprecation Plucky Comic Relief Married to the Job Antagonist Title Nice Hat Martial Arts Movie Evil Sounds Deep Pet the Dog Artistic License – Biology Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome Unusual Euphemism Death Seeker Documentary The Stoic Roger Ebert: Great Movies List Science Fiction Films Insane Troll Logic Not Using the "Z" Word Dies Wide Open Wounded Gazelle Gambit Biopic Grey and Gray Morality Hypocrite Improbable Aiming Skills As Himself Fun with Acronyms Sassy Black Woman Gory Discretion Shot Pyrrhic Victory Deliberate Values Dissonance Girl-on-Girl Is Hot Say My Name What You Are in the Dark Expository Hairstyle Change Rule of Symbolism The '60s Precision F-Strike Bottomless Magazines Rule of Cool Leave the Camera Running Bowdlerise Actually Pretty Funny Rule of Funny Creative Closing Credits In the Back Fingore Neck Lift Kick the Son of a Bitch Once More, with Clarity! Straight Gay The Voiceless Manchild Zombie Stories Training Montage Catch-Phrase Parental Abandonment Never My Fault Screw This, I'm Outta Here! A Date with Rosie Palms I Did What I Had to Do All Men Are Perverts Action Prologue Rule of Three Apocalypse How An Arm and a Leg Punny Name Belligerent Sexual Tension Curse Cut Short Awesome, but Impractical Cluster F-Bomb Tranquil Fury The Hero Dies Domestic Abuse Vitriolic Best Buds Ambiguous Disorder Cool Old Lady All There in the Manual The Dog Bites Back Artistic License – Law Pre-Mortem One-Liner Reality Has No Subtitles The End... Or Is It? Dramatic Irony Victoria's Secret Compartment Friend to All Children Jerkass Put on a Bus And I Must Scream Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique Film Noir Index German Films Monumental Damage Maybe Ever After Leaning on the Fourth Wall Evil Plan Faking the Dead Cool Shades All There in the Script Pragmatic Villainy Spiteful Spit Spanner in the Works Works Set in World War II Kill 'em All Rated M for Manly Big Bad Duumvirate Impaled with Extreme Prejudice Improbable Weapon User Five-Man Band Jerk with a Heart of Gold Greater-Scope Villain Combat Pragmatist Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas He Who Fights Monsters Gainax Ending Air-Vent Passageway Shoot the Shaggy Dog Spared by the Adaptation A God Am I Action Film, Quiet Drama Scene You Have Outlived Your Usefulness Blatant Lies Our Zombies Are Different Your Head A-Splode Coming-of-Age Story Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking Getting Crap Past the Radar Ugly Guy, Hot Wife Posthumous Character Mood Whiplash Humiliation Conga Dark and Troubled Past Accidental Misnaming Heroic Sacrifice Dogged Nice Guy Never Found the Body Wham Line Badass Bookworm Male Gaze Truth in Television Despair Event Horizon Evil Is Hammy Russian Films Fourth Date Marriage Time Skip The X of Y Bond One-Liner Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds Body Horror True Companions Brainless Beauty Evil Counterpart Suddenly SHOUTING! Fatal Flaw Sci-Fi Horror Red Shirt Mr. Fanservice Room Full of Crazy Sports Stories Dramedy Big Eater Tap on the Head Gilligan Cut Almost Kiss Yandere Very Loosely Based on a True Story Facial Horror Armor-Piercing Question From Bad to Worse Good Is Not Nice 20 Minutes into the Future Loophole Abuse Ambiguously Gay Disney Death Love Triangle Real Life Blackmail Blonde, Brunette, Redhead "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue Not Even Bothering with the Accent "Shaggy Dog" Story Mr. Exposition Overprotective Dad Asshole Victim Developing Doomed Characters Bolivian Army Ending Brick Joke I Need a Freaking Drink Anyone Can Die Driven to Suicide Determinator aka: The Determinator Sanity Slippage Animal Motifs Evil vs. Evil The '50s Mama Bear Gorn Didn't Think This Through Market-Based Title Casting Gag Parental Incest Outrun the Fireball Ironic Echo Meaningful Name Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep" Those Two Bad Guys Flashback Villain Protagonist Rasputinian Death Eldritch Abomination Why Don't You Just Shoot Him? Bavarian Fire Drill Vomit Indiscretion Shot Artistic License – Gun Safety Danny Peary Cult Movies List Slasher Movie Really Gets Around Line-of-Sight Name Cool Guns Taking You with Me Novelization Translation Convention Disguised in Drag Kids Are Cruel Crucified Hero Shot Cruel and Unusual Death